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Mexico v Sweden (2018 World Cup)
| next = }} Mexico v Sweden was a match which took place at the Central Stadium on Wednesday 27 June 2018. Preview and teams's preparation Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio is renowned for rotating his squad and with a third game in 11 days, several changes could be made. Marco Fabian is pushing for a first start of the tournament, while Jesus Corona is also in contention. Sweden should stick with the side who were only denied a draw with Germany by Toni Kroos' injury-time winner. Sebastian Larsson, Viktor Claesson and Albin Ekdal are one booking away from suspension. With everything to play for in Group F, the build-up to this match should be dominated by football, but in an age of social media, when the stakes are high, unpleasant things can follow. Following Germany's last-gasp equaliser against Sweden, via the brilliant boot of Toni Kroos, knives were quickly sharpened in sickening fashion. Swedish midfielder Jimmy Durmaz, who conceded the free-kick which Kroos converted in the 95th minute, was subjected to death threats online. Durmaz issued a statement in response, with support from his team-mates, branding the abuse "unacceptable" and added: "We stand united. We are Sweden." Unity on the pitch will also be required if Sweden are to recover from that heartbreaking defeat to make it into the knockout stage. Mexico have performed well in winning their opening two games and could become the first CONCACAF team to win three consecutive World Cup matches. They need just a point to go through while a win would be enough for Sweden. Head to head This will be the 10th game between these sides but just a second at a World Cup. Sweden won their only previous meeting in this tournament, a 3-0 victory as hosts in the opening group match in 1958. Mexico are unbeaten in four of their last five matches against Sweden (W2, D2), although all of those games were friendlies. Match Sweden propelled themselves into the World Cup knockout stage with a handsome victory over Mexico that qualified them as Group F winners and condemned Germany to early elimination. Mexico, undone on the counter attack and from the penalty spot before conceding an own goal, joined Sweden in reaching the next round as runners-up despite the defeat after the defending champions also lost. Germany, the four-time World Cup winners, were beaten 2-0 by South Korea and failed to reach the knockout stage for the first time in 16 consecutive appearances since 1954. Sweden also had a first-half penalty claim for a handball by Javier Hernandez that was denied despite going to a VAR review, but in the end it mattered little after three second-half goals. Ludwig Augustinsson fired Sweden ahead five minutes after the break when a Viktor Claesson mis-hit inadvertently found him free at the far post, before Andreas Granqvist smashed in a penalty 12 minutes later following a Hector Moreno trip on Marcus Berg. Mexico - who went close through a curling Carlos Vela effort in the first half - pressed hard for a reply but were punished again when Edson Alvarez clumsily turned in an attempted clearance past his own keeper. Juan Carlos Osorio's side, so brilliant in two previous wins over Germany and South Korea, should have scored at least a goal from their underwhelming performance but for a woeful Vela header in the closing stages. The teams will find out who they play in the next round later this evening, after the final round of matches in Group E. As it stands Sweden would face Switzerland, while Mexico, who have been knocked out in the last 16 of every World Cup since 1994, will most likely play Brazil. With the game fading into injury time and Sweden certain of victory, Mexican fans began to think what was before the game unthinkable - possible elimination. At that stage, Germany were still drawing 0-0 with South Korea, and a late goal for Joachim Low's side would have moved them into second place on goal difference. The two late goals for South Korea - the second came after the final whistle had been blown in Ekaterinburg - were greeted with celebration and relief at the end of a performance that had little to cheer about. This was the first time in Colombian Osario's 51 matches in charge of Mexico that he made no changes from their previous match. But his team were completely unrecognisable from the 2-1 victory over South Korea that followed that impressive opening 1-0 win against Germany. They found it far more difficult against Sweden, who threw everything towards claiming the win. It now seems that Osario - criticised in the past for too much tinkering - will face questions of a different sort, just when he thought he had found his best XI. Sweden's cruel last-minute defeat by Germany in the second round of matches looked to have severely diminished their chances of reaching the knockout stage. But how emphatically they put that result behind them. Before Toni Kroos' 95th-minute goal, they had performed much in the same way as they did here; difficult to break down, dangerous on the counter and combative at every opportunity. The only difference was that they were far more clinical against Mexico when chances presented themselves and their three second-half goals left their opponents reeling. Competing at the tournament for the first time since 2006, it will be intriguing to see how far they can go. Details Granqvist Álvarez |stadium = Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg |attendance = 33,061 |referee = Néstor Pitana (Argentina) }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Final Group F Table |w=2 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=5 |ga=2|bc=lightgreen|advances = y}} |w=2 |d=0 |l=1 |gf=3 |ga=4 |bc=lightgreen|advances = y}} |w=1 |d=0 |l=2 |gf=3 |ga=3|eliminated=y}} |w=1 |d=0 |l=2 |gf=2 |ga=4|eliminated=y}} |} Match Stats= {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !width=130|Overall !width=70|Mexico !width=70|Sweden |- !scope=row|Goals scored |0||3 |- !scope=row|Total shots |20||15 |- !scope=row|Shots on target |3||5 |- !scope=row|Ball possession |67%||33% |- !scope=row|Corner kicks |7||3 |- !scope=row|Fouls committed |14||11 |-| See also *2018 FIFA World Cup :*2018 FIFA World Cup Group F External links *Match report at BBC.co.uk Category:2018 FIFA World Cup Matches